EXCUSE me, but anything that interferes with the enjoyment or playability of the game is, from the customer/user's stanpoint, a BUG. Nothing more, but nothing less, either.
EA has screwed the pooch big time and he quite properly reported a bug.
I bought "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri" from them about five minutes after I found out it was available. (Slow typist I.)
No DRM, installed in a blink, worked fine.
Recently, I was checking their site and discovered that the game had been "updated." Downloaded the update and installed it, only to discover that not only had they patched "Alpha Centauri," but the install now included the sequel, "Alien Crossfire," AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.
Both games played like a dream right out of the download.
Now, mind you, I would cheerfully have paid another 5.99 for "Alien Crossfire." They would certainly have earned it.
My next step? I bought a gift copy for my pact brother. EA can go to the devil as far as I'm concerned. So-so gameplay and a "we own our customers" attitude will cost them a hell of a lot more in the long run than piracy ever will.
Actually, the best indication of true intelligence is when someone says "fuck you" or "bullshit" to bad or incompletely thought out ideas.
I'm wondering what would happen if Watson finds a cheap, simple, non-patentable cure for cancer. Would it have to be suppressed lest it put a huge chunk of the health-industrial complex out of business?
"It's funny he's earning so much respect from you guys considering he obviously doesn't have his son's respect."
"Another implication of the one-child policy is what's referred to as the 'little emperor' syndrome. Some social psychologists contend that many Chinese children, because they have no siblings, are not properly socialized into society. And in fact, these so-called Chinese singletons have been accused of being over-indulged, lacking in self discipline and having no adaptive capabilities."
The whole thing was pretty much politically motivated, with Google's erstwhile competitors leading the charge. The FTC's claim of "significance" rests on one eternal truth:
Actually, you could take the tack that a film (or anything else, for that matter) that's not worth stealing is also not worth watching, playing, or reading.
Remember, most legislators are lawyers, and once you admit that people do, in fact sue in bad faith, it casts doubt on the whole system of tort law as it is established.
So they close their eyes to the truth and carry on as if nothing had happened.
PDFs are OK for technical books (sort of), but fiction should be stuffable into everything from a phone to a desktop, and PDFs are not suitable for the former.
Long before designer genes came along, the specter of tailored plagues mutating out of their controls and turning on their creators was (and is) a very real possibility. I recall several science-fiction stories (some in the sixties) which either mentioned the possibility or used it as a plot device.
On the post: Redditor Points Out The Flaws In SimCity's Online-Only DRM, Gets Banned By EA For His Troubles [UPDATED]
Re:
EA has screwed the pooch big time and he quite properly reported a bug.
On the post: Redditor Points Out The Flaws In SimCity's Online-Only DRM, Gets Banned By EA For His Troubles [UPDATED]
In Contrast to EA
I bought "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri" from them about five minutes after I found out it was available. (Slow typist I.)
No DRM, installed in a blink, worked fine.
Recently, I was checking their site and discovered that the game had been "updated." Downloaded the update and installed it, only to discover that not only had they patched "Alpha Centauri," but the install now included the sequel, "Alien Crossfire," AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.
Both games played like a dream right out of the download.
Now, mind you, I would cheerfully have paid another 5.99 for "Alien Crossfire." They would certainly have earned it.
My next step? I bought a gift copy for my pact brother. EA can go to the devil as far as I'm concerned. So-so gameplay and a "we own our customers" attitude will cost them a hell of a lot more in the long run than piracy ever will.
On the post: Dish Turns CBS' Actions Against It; Touts Its Revoked 'Best In Show' Status With A Damning Footnote
CBS *was* the network to watch.
On the post: IBM Researcher Feeds Watson Supercomputer The 'Urban Dictionary'; Very Quickly Regrets It
Re: Not so intelligent after all
I'm wondering what would happen if Watson finds a cheap, simple, non-patentable cure for cancer. Would it have to be suppressed lest it put a huge chunk of the health-industrial complex out of business?
On the post: Dad Hires Digital Assassins To Murder His Son (Digitally)
The Law of Unintended Consequences is not Mocked
"Another implication of the one-child policy is what's referred to as the 'little emperor' syndrome. Some social psychologists contend that many Chinese children, because they have no siblings, are not properly socialized into society. And in fact, these so-called Chinese singletons have been accused of being over-indulged, lacking in self discipline and having no adaptive capabilities."
Do the math.
On the post: As Expected, FTC Announces Close Of Google Investigation With No Antitrust Charges, But Minor Tweaks To Biz Practices
Remember This
In the political arena, perception IS reality.
On the post: Swedish Appeals Court Says Web Designer Is Responsible For Copyright Infringement On StudentBay
Hmmmmm....
On the post: Infographic: People Will Pay To Support Creators, Even When Free Is An Option
Link to image not working
On the post: Voltage Pictures Thinks Canada's New Copyright Law Opens The Door For More Trolling
Re:
On the post: Patent Trolls Now Make Up More Than Half Of All Patent Lawsuits
Major Disincentives to Fix This
So they close their eyes to the truth and carry on as if nothing had happened.
On the post: Mayor Of London Says Internet To Blame For British Press Sins
He's obviously channeling Anna Russell
The lesson this has taught;
That everything I do that's wrong -
Is someone else's fault."
-- Jolly Old Sigmund Freud
On the post: Fiction By Timothy Geigner, Now Available At The Techdirt Insider Shop
Re: Re: ePub?
On the post: Disney Chooses Netflix As Its Exclusive Distributor Beginning In 2016
Re:
On the post: Fiction By Timothy Geigner, Now Available At The Techdirt Insider Shop
ePub?
Thank you.
On the post: Author Andrew Piper: Turning Pages Is Important, Therefore Reading Ebooks Isn't Reading
Very Old Techdirt Post On This Subject
On the post: Author Andrew Piper: Turning Pages Is Important, Therefore Reading Ebooks Isn't Reading
Piper's Logic Followed To Its Conclusion
Axiom: If it isn't real, it doesn't exist.
Conclusion: Thoughts don't exist.
On the post: Recording Industry Could Catch More Flies With Honey, But Keeps Betting On Vinegar
Lower prices? Convenience? Customer-friendly?
On the post: Open Letter To Human Synergistics International In Response To Your Accusation That Techdirt Is Infringing
F.O. as an art form
On the post: Game Maker Studio DRM Misfires; Permanently Replaces Created Game Resources With Pirate Symbols
"open discussion" won't help
Please move me from the "potential customer" column to the "will die in my tracks before buying from them" column.
On the post: Stuxnet's Infection Of Chevron Shows Why 'Weaponized' Malware Is A Bad Idea
Not a new argument
Think "genie out of the bottle."